somethin to thnk about when you are at the fuel dock

[gramps]

this is one of the gas docks at Powell (I think it WAS Bullfrog).
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/hwgramps/c11.jpg

[Dr. Eagle]

Originally posted by gramps
this is one of the gas docks at Powell (I think it WAS Bullfrog).
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/hwgramps/c11.jpg
I told him not to smoke that cigarette while he was filling the boat...

[Big_Gunz_]

Ouch, some insurance company won't be happy about that. Hope no one got hurt.

[aztommy]

wish they would call me im a loss consultant

[NuckinFutz]

That was Bullfrog last summer. I can't remember the details, but do know it was there.

[rrrr]

I was at the pumps a couple of years ago across from a houseboat that had just fueled up. It had a dead battery, so the marina guy opened the big clamshell doors on the rear deck to access the engine area.
He climbed in with one of those booster thingies, and a few seconds later there was a huge explosion. The guy literally flew into the air about six feet and landed headfirst on the dock. The boat was burning like h*ll, and I was screaming at my wife and friends (who had small kids with them) to run. I started my boat and moved away from the dock about a hundred feet.
Fortunately there was one of those giant fire extinguishers sitting right there, the kind with about 25' of hose and big spoked iron wheels. Someone grabbed it and knocked the fire out.
Turns out the vent line from the fuel tank had broken off at the tank and there was gas in the bilge. The guy that flew out of the boat had some minor burns and a separated shoulder.
Since that episode I always try to get gas when I'm the only one at the pumps, and if that's not possible, I watch the other guy very closely. Dunno about you guys, but I have a pretty low opinion of most other boaters and their brainpower.
I have always had a personal rule about filling up. When I'm done, I open the hatch and do a smell check. I also make sure the water separator/filter canister is tight, and check all the fuel lines.
About ten years ago, the brother of one of my wife's best friends was killed when he turned the key at the gas dock after filling up. The filler hose had cracked open and filled the bilge with gas. He lived for a few days but was too badly burned to survive. It happened on the Fourth of July.
Always be careful when you fuel your boat.

[welk2party]

I am pretty careful. I open the hatch and turn on the blower along with a visual inspection. The passengers complain because they have to get up and move, but thems the rules on my boat. I see a lot of people not use the blower when starting their boat as well.

[OGShocker]

We pulled up to the fuel dock at Alameda one day and there was a 18' 1960 something boat there. The lady at the dock ask if we could believe that little boat could hold over 300 gallons of fuel. When I told her no she showed me the receipt for the guys fuel. His boats filler hose had rotted away and he walked away to buy some food in the store. When he came back he looked at the pump, then at the boat (riding a little low in the water) and freaked! Fire dept came out and took over. A week later we talked to the fuel lady and she told us the boat owner was looking at a clean up bill of over $5,000 on top of his fuel bill.
That guy was lucky he didn't smoke.

[RiverDave]

Opening the hatch could cause ignition as well couldn't it? The worm gear lifts that are on most boats have an electric motor on them, and I'm pretty sure they are not explosion proof? (sealed to prevent explosions)
RD

[78Eliminator]

You sure are up early, big guy!